The post has since gone viral, drawing thousands of views, likes, and comments.

While I am not here to evaluate the authenticity of Donnie’s dream, certain theological claims embedded in his post warrant careful biblical examination. Can genuine believers miss the rapture? Will the rapture be a secret event? What follows the rapture? What about the rise of the Antichrist and the great tribulation?

These questions belong to the branch of theology known as eschatology—from the Greek eschatos, meaning “last things”, and logia, meaning “study of” or “doctrine”—the doctrine of the end times and the future. My aim in this article is to provide biblical clarity on each of them and, in doing so, to offer genuine comfort to believers who have wrestled with them.

Some aspects of eschatology are genuinely complex, about which we cannot speak dogmatically, and we should extend grace to those who hold alternative views. Nonetheless, certain things are clear. Rather than surveying all the competing positions, I will begin with what Scripture teaches plainly, then move into areas of legitimate controversy. I invite the reader to weigh the arguments and judge for themselves by Scripture alone.

What Is the Rapture?

The term rapture refers to the taking up or snatching away of believers to be with Christ when He returns. It derives from the Latin rapio, meaning to seize, snatch, or carry away. The primary proof text is 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. The same concept appears in our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 24:40–41: two men in the field, one taken and one left; two women grinding at the mill, one taken and one left—all of it grounded in His promise that He will come again and take His followers to be with Him forever (John 14:3).

Could Believers Miss the Rapture?

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul is emphatic: believers who have died in Christ will rise first, and those still alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Who are those who are “alive and left”? Given that the criterion for those who rise first is that they are “in the Lord,” it follows that those still alive who are caught up must likewise be in the Lord—believers living at the time of Christ’s return.

“In the Lord” is the New Testament’s shorthand for all who have placed saving faith in Jesus—a description of the union believers share with Christ and with one another. This is clear from the immediate context: verse 14 states, “since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Paul is plainly addressing those who believe in the death and resurrection of Christ. He calls them brothers throughout the letter—the standard New Testament term for fellow believers—and describes them in 1:1 as “the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.“

Union with Christ: the deepest assurance of salvation

When one comes to saving faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit miraculously and irrevocably unites the believer to Christ Himself. Through this union, the believer receives all the saving benefits Christ merited by His life, death, and resurrection.

This spans their election in Christ before the foundation of the world, and by it they participate in everything that Jesus did during His earthly ministry as their representative. This means that when Jesus died, the old nature of the elect was crucified with Him (Galatians 5:24). By this Union, the believer’s sins were imputed to Christ, He atoned for them, and, in turn, the righteousness of Christ was imputed to the believer (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Notably, the believer’s union with Christ guarantees our security as Christians. Once united spiritually with Christ, one cannot be ‘unjoined’ from Him. The Union is an inseparable one. It is as irreversible as one cannot be unborn. This is what it means to be in Christ.

Justified in Christ by Union with Christ, free from condemnation

We can therefore conclude that the sole criterion for being raptured is the fact that we are in Christ, not works, achievement, or a particular level of spiritual zeal. To be precise, the reason no genuine believer can miss the rapture is not that he has met some subjective standard of spiritual readiness, but that God has already declared him righteous in Christ.

This is the doctrine of justification—the gracious and judicial act of God whereby He removes the guilt of sin and declares the sinner righteous in His sight, not because of anything done by them, but because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to him and received by faith alone. It is a forensic verdict, spoken from the throne of the eternal Judge. And it does not change.

Paul presses the point in Romans 8: 33–34 “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?“. God does not justify by degrees. When He declares a sinner righteous, the verdict is final. The case is settled. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The assurance we need is not a better assessment of our recent spiritual performance, but a clearer view of our objective standing before God in Christ. The question is not, “Have I been holy enough?” but “Has Christ truly atoned for all my sin, and am I clothed in His righteousness as a result?” And the answer to that second question, for every genuine believer, is an unequivocal yes.

Reading the comments on Donnie’s post, one cannot help but notice that many of the fears being expressed are not fundamentally eschatological—they stem from a lack of assurance of salvation. Many seem to be evaluating their standing before God in terms of recent spiritual performance rather than in light of the finished work of Christ. The remedy for such fear is not a more anxious inspection of one’s spiritual record, but a more confident resting in what Christ has already accomplished on our behalf.

Dear reader, as a sinner, have you come to Christ in faith? Then you are in Christ. And they who are in Christ will be caught up to meet with Christ upon His return. 

What then is the place of ongoing holiness?

We ought to take seriously our Lord’s command to remain watchful, like servants who do not know when their master will return (Matthew 24:45–51). But this warning should not be read to mean that a genuine believer can somehow miss the rapture. I suspect this is precisely the implication in Donnie’s post—that if the Lord returned while you were in the middle of committing a particular sin, you might be left behind.

I am not dismissing the importance of sanctification or holy living; quite the opposite. However, we must distinguish between our good works, which demonstrate that we are saved, and the fact that it is not our good works that save us.

What, then, do those warnings accomplish? Believers have been set free from slavery to sin (Romans 6). The warning passages of Scripture, therefore, call them to be functionally or experimentally what they already are positionally in Christ: holy (Galatians 5:1; Philippians 2:12–13).

Thus, the warnings of Scripture serve as the means by which God calls His people to watchfulness, not to be seen as a threat of exclusion, but as a means of sustaining those He has already secured (Philippians 1:6).

Will the Rapture Be Secret?

Here we enter an area of controversy. Donnie’s post implies that the rapture will be a secret event—a view held by those who believe the church will be quietly snatched away to escape the coming tribulation, after which Jesus will return to establish His millennial reign, followed by final judgment and the eternal state.

My difficulty with this view is that it requires not one but two future returns of the Lord: a second coming to remove His people secretly, and a third coming to establish His kingdom. But does the Bible teach two second comings?

Nowhere in Scripture do we read of two separate future returns. When Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, the angels told the disciples plainly: “He will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In Matthew 24, speaking of His return, Jesus says:

“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:26–27, 30)

His coming will be visible to all—as unmistakable as lightning splitting the sky. Every person on earth will witness it. On my part, I cannot reconcile a secret return with this. 

Caught Up to Meet the Returning King

If the second coming is not secret, and there can be only one future return of Christ, then 1 Thessalonians 4 must be read accordingly: believers who have died and those still alive will be caught up together to meet the Lord as He arrives—not to be whisked away to a different location, but to welcome Him back.

The Greek word Paul uses for “meet” here—apantēsis—was used in the ancient world to describe the formal civic procession in which citizens would pour out of their city to welcome and escort a returning dignitary, conquering general, or king.

Similarly, the word Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 for Christ’s coming—parousia—was the term for a royal visit: the arrival of a high-ranking official, even Caesar himself. Whenever such a figure approached, the people would go out to meet him with fanfare and celebration, then escort him through the city gates.

The direction of travel is telling: the citizens go out to the approaching figure, then turn back and accompany him in. We see the same pattern in Matthew 25:6, where the bridesmaids go out to meet the bridegroom, and in Acts 28:15, where Roman believers travel out to meet Paul on the road and then accompany him into the city.

Paul’s use of apantēsis, therefore, strongly suggests that believers meet Christ in the air not to be permanently transported away, but to escort the returning King back to earth as He takes His throne. This reading is supported by Revelation 20, which indicates that upon His return, Christ will immediately establish His millennial reign, with believers reigning alongside Him on a renewed earth (more of this in the subsequent article). 

Conclusion

We have established that no genuine believer can miss the rapture; not because of any spiritual achievement on their part, but because their standing before God rests entirely on the finished work of Christ. We have also seen that the biblical evidence points away from a secret rapture toward a visible, glorious return, in which believers are caught up not to escape to heaven, but to escort their returning King back to earth.

Much remains to be said: what happens next after the rapture? The questions of the great tribulation, the Antichrist, and the millennial reign of Christ all bear directly on how we read the times we are living in, and how we ought to live in them. We will take these up in the next article.

For now, let this much be settled in your heart, dear reader: if you are in Christ, you have nothing to fear. The God who justified you will glorify you. The Saviour who died for you is coming back for you. And when He comes, He will not lose a single one of those the Father has given Him.

Notes

1. For further reading on the doctrine of the believer’s Union with Christ, see this previous article and this series of articles and resources from Ligonier Ministries.
2. For further reading on the doctrine of Justification, please see this article.

The post A Biblical Perspective on the Rapture appeared first on TGN.

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.’” (Acts 2:37–38)

If Regeneration describes what God does to us, Conversion describes what God brings forth from us. It is here, at this juncture in the Ordo Salutis, that the renewed heart responds to the Gospel with repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These two graces —repentance and faith— are inseparable, simultaneous, and necessary.

Simply put, Conversion is the God-enabled response of the sinner: turning from sin in repentance and embracing Christ by faith. It is not the cause of regeneration, but the result of it. Having been made alive by the Spirit, he now willingly responds to Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. The sinner really repents and believes, but only because God has first worked in the heart.

Scripture consistently presents repentance and faith not as achievements of moral resolve, but as responses that flow from God’s mercy (Acts 16:14; 1 John 4:19). When Peter preached Christ crucified and risen on the day of Pentecost, the crowd did not calmly weigh religious options. They were “cut to the heart.” Their response was not curiosity, but desperation. This piercing conviction was not self-generated; it was the immediate fruit of the Spirit’s regenerating work through the proclaimed Word.

Repentance: A Godward Turning

Biblical repentance is far more than remorse or regret. It is not merely sorrow over consequences, nor a momentary feeling of guilt. True repentance is a decisive turning of the whole person away from sin and toward God. Scripture consistently calls sinners to this response, commanding all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). The responsibility to turn from sin is real and urgent.

Yet the Scriptures are equally clear that such repentance does not arise from fallen human nature. The Apostle Paul speaks of repentance as a gift of divine grace, declaring that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25). This language is critical. Repentance is demanded of every sinner, yet produced by God alone. The sinner turns willingly and consciously, but only because God has first broken the bondage of sin and illuminated the mind to see sin for what it truly is—rebellion against a holy God (Acts 9:4; 9:18). Therefore, repentance is not the cause of new life, but the fruit of it, flowing from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration necessarily precedes faith and repentance as its divine source.

Faith: Resting in Christ Alone

Alongside repentance stands faith—simple, dependent, Christ-exalting faith. Faith is not confidence in one’s sincerity, nor trust in one’s ability to make a wise spiritual decision. Saving faith is the empty hand that receives Christ as He is freely offered in the Gospel. It is a resting of the soul upon Christ alone, a clinging to His promises, and a looking away from self to His finished work for righteousness. Scripture repeatedly calls sinners to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), placing before every hearer the responsibility to trust in Him for salvation.

Yet the Bible is equally clear that such faith does not arise from the natural heart of fallen man. The Apostle Paul declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is not produced by human will or spiritual insight, but flows from the sovereign work of God in making the sinner alive. Only those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit are able to perceive the glory of Christ, embrace His promises, and rest in Him for salvation (1 Corinthians 2:14; John 6:44). The sinner believes willingly and personally, yet only because God has first granted the eyes to see and the heart to trust. Thus, faith is not the cause of regeneration, but its necessary fruit.

One Response, Two Sides

Repentance and faith are not sequential steps but two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. To turn from sin is necessarily to turn toward Christ; to trust Christ is necessarily to abandon sin as your master and lord. Scripture never allows for a faith that does not repent, nor a repentance that does not believe.

This is why the Gospel call is both searching and gracious. It exposes sin without mercy, yet offers mercy without condition. It commands repentance, yet supplies the very grace by which repentance occurs. It demands faith, yet provides the object, the ground, and the power of that faith in Christ Himself.

No Room for Boasting

At this point in the Ordo Salutis, any remaining vestige of human boasting must finally collapse. Even our believing and repenting are traced back to God’s prior work. As the Apostle Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Conversion does not elevate man; it magnifies grace. The believer’s testimony is not “I chose wisely,” but “I was shown mercy.”

And yet, this doctrine does not produce passivity. On the contrary, it gives urgency to Gospel proclamation and clarity to Gospel invitation. We may call sinners to repent and believe without hesitation, knowing that God Himself grants what He commands.

Conclusion

If you are in Christ, remember that your repentance and faith are not relics of the past, but ongoing graces. The Christian life is one of continual turning from sin and continual resting in Christ. And if you are not yet in Christ, the call remains before you even now: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). The same God who raises the dead delights to grant repentance and faith to all who come to Him through Christ.

In closing, consider the words of Joseph Hart’s hymn Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (1759), which so beautifully capture the gracious call of the Gospel and the humble response of repentance and faith in the converted heart:

Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requires

Is to feel your need of Him.

The post Ordo Salutis: Conversion appeared first on TGN.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29.

We pick up our study of John’s testimony about Jesus in John 1:29-34 from where we left off in the previous article, having considered how the historical and prophetic teaching on the Lamb of God converges in Jesus Christ. In this final article in the series, we will consider what it means to take away the world’s sin and explore the response of John’s first hearers and what our own response must be.

What does it mean to take away the sin of the world?

Observe that our text says, “the Lamb of God (not just any lamb) who takes away the sin (not the sins) of the world“. This is most striking! It begs the following questions: “Why did God have to provide Himself a Lamb?“ (Genesis 22:8), “Could we be absolved of our sins by any other means, without the intervention of this Lamb?“ and “What is the sin that this Lamb takes away?“

In his book, “Everyone’s a Theologian“, R. C. Sproul provides an illustration that I think is very useful in answering these questions. I will attempt to recapitulate it as faithfully as I can. Imagine a small boy entering an ice cream store and ordering an ice cream cone. The waitress serves him the ice cream and tells him he owes GHS2. The boy’s face sinks as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out only a GHS1 note. With deep sadness, he tells the waitress, “My mommy gave me only one Ghana cedi“. Imagine you were standing in the queue, watching this drama unfold. Moved, with compassion, you pull out a cedi from your pocket, hand it to the waitress and say, “Here, I’ll make up the difference.“ The boy looks up with a beaming smile and says, “Gee, thank you Sir“ and goes away ravishing the ice cream.

Do you suppose the waitress will accept the payment? Yes, she would because the boy incurred a financial debt of GHS1, and as long as the money you offered is genuine, it is legal tender, and the waitress will have to accept the payment. However, the result will be different if we tweak the story a bit.

Imagine our boy entering the shop again, but this time, instead of ordering a cone, he waits until the waitress goes to the back of the shop, at which time he quickly scoops some of the ice cream into a cone and makes a run for it. Unfortunately, the security at the entrance catches him, and the shop owner calls the police. As you watch this drama unfold, you feel sorry for the boy and decide to intervene. You hand the owner GHS2 and say to the policeman, “Hang on a second, officer. Look, here’s GHS2 for what the boy owes, now shall we forget about this?“. The policeman looks at the owner and asks, “Do you want to press charges?” The policeman cannot let the boy go just yet because this time, he has not just incurred a pecuniary debt; he has broken the law and incurred a moral debt as well. So, the store owner reserves the right to accept or refuse the payment.

That is precisely how we should view the atonement. When Paul contemplated the atonement in Romans 3:26, he called God both the judge and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Sproul points out that God the Father is the owner of the ice cream store, and we are the little boy who tried to steal some ice cream. All of us have broken God’s law and incurred a moral debt, the punishment for which is death. That is the sin of the world – a moral debt; one that we cannot pay because we keep on sinning.

God being just, he must punish our sin. And just as the owner of the ice cream shop decides what payment he will accept, so God the Father reserves the right to dictate what payment is required for our treasonous offence and the moral debt we owe him. God has chosen His own substitute to pay the price for our sins; a bystander cannot simply pay the debt. That is the only payment He has chosen to accept, the only one worthy and sufficient to pay for our moral debt. And so, sin cannot be taken away by any other lamb.

Why does John use this description of Jesus and not any other?

To answer this, we turn to Revelations 5. A verdict is about to be given in heaven, and John hears a loud voice ask, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” At first, no one is found worthy, and so John weeps uncontrollably. Then one of the elders tells him to stop weeping, for behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered and so can open the scroll and its seven seals.

Based on the description of the elder, one would expect to see a powerful lion coming up to snatch the scroll and tear it open, but instead, as John looks on, he sees a Lamb, as though it was slain, standing between the throne and the four living creatures. He [the Lamb] takes the scroll from the hand of Him, who sits on the throne. And then the four living creatures and twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before the Lamb and sing his praises.

The portrait of Jesus as the Lion easily evokes imageries of power and majesty. Rightly so, for all power in heaven and on earth belong to Jesus. But then, I believe that his power, majesty, and exaltation are revealed in his death on the cross. It was as the Lamb that was slain that he conquered, not as a Lion. That is why he retains the portrait of a Lamb even in heaven. And that is why the Lamb is the theme of heaven’s praises, as exemplified by Revelations 5. According to one count, there are twenty-eight references to Jesus as the Lamb in the book of Revelations and only one in the rest of the New Testament (from John’s testimony in our opening passage). He sits on heaven’s throne as the Lamb that was slain instead of a Lion.

What was the response of John’s hearers, and what should our own reaction be?

John’s words would have been momentous to his hearers. And the import of such a description would not have been lost on them. “This is the one Isaiah and the prophets spoke about!“ This is the great antitype of all types presented in the numerous offerings and sacrifices you and your fathers have performed in the temple. Behold the Lamb of God!“

And what was their response? Some, like the two disciples of John, Andrew and the other (whose name we don’t know), believed and left John to follow the Lamb (John 1:40). He [Andrew] then found his brother, Simon and brought him along to the Lamb. But others, such as the Jewish leaders, rejected him because he did not fit the mould they were expecting. They expected a military leader, a Lion, who would ravage the armies of the Romans and set them free from physical and economic oppression. And so, they rejected him and had Him killed.

What would our own response be? I would like to suggest two ways in which we must respond.

Firstly, if you don’t know Jesus as your sin-bearer, this is your moment to behold him as your Lord and Saviour. Consider giving your life to Him and making him your sin-bearer too.

For you, my Christian friend, recognise that the Sin-bearing Lamb is the world’s greatest need.
I fear that the church today is too quick to present a portrait of Jesus that is popular with the masses. Too often, we try to present a politically correct or people-pleasing Jesus who doesn’t want to offend anybody; or a philanthropic Jesus who wants to feed the poor, clothe the naked and solve every other problem but not the problem of sin. However, these are not the greatest needs of our world.

Perhaps, we are afraid people will reject our Jesus as the Lamb who takes away their sin, so we try to present a “softer“ version of Him. As theologian D. A. Carson so poignantly points out,

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, He would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death, and he sent us a Savior.“

Let us be careful to present the sin-bearing Lamb to a world that needs Him more than anything else!

The post Behold the Lamb of God! (Part 3) appeared first on TGN.

The Wycliffe commentary notes,

“John gave three sterling testimonies to Christ’s person and work. As the Lamb, His mission was to be one of redemption. As baptiser with the Spirit, He would found the Church. As Son of God, He would be worthy of adoration and obedience.”

For this article, we will focus on the person and work of Christ as the Lamb of God, who takes away the world’s sin.

Who is this Lamb?

The idea is suggested in history (Exodus 12) and prophecy (Isaiah 53). Historically, we refer to passages such as Exodus 12, where the portrait of Christ as the Lamb of God is painted ever so clearly. On the eve of the Exodus, God commanded the Jews to mark their doorposts with the blood of a year-old lamb without blemish and how the angel of death would pass through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn in every house where the command has not been obeyed.

That lamb without blemish, was a type of Christ. Paul makes this connection in 2 Cor. 15:10 when he says,

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.“

Also, several verses in the book of Revelations refer to Christ as the Lamb who was slain. Let’s look at it with a chart (below) and work it out for ourselves.

First, God required a lamb a year old, in other words, a lamb in its prime. Similarly, Jesus was crucified in the prime of his life, at 33 years. It was to be a spotless lamb. Jesus was tried six times, and each time his innocence shone through. Thrice, during his trial, Pilate declared, “I find no fault in Him!” The lamb was to be slain and roasted with fire. This signified the type of death Jesus was to die and the painful suffering he would endure on our behalf. The fire denotes the wrath of God, which Christ fully bore so that we who were once God’s enemies can be forgiven and adopted into God’s family.

Not a bone of the lamb was to be broken. On the cross, the Jewish authorities asked the soldiers to break the bones of the prisoners to hasten their death, as it was nearing the Passover. But when they got to Jesus, they found he was already dead, so none of His bones was broken (John 19:33).

The sprinkling of the blood was crucial to the angel of death passing over. If the lamb was killed, but its blood was not applied to the doorposts, the angel of death would not pass over. Similarly, Christ has been crucified; His blood has been shed for our sins; however, we must receive the atonement for ourselves, or else we won’t be saved. We must not wait till tomorrow. Today is a gift, that’s why we call it ‘present’ but tomorrow is never ours. As the Scripture says, if we hear his voice today, we must let Him in and not harden our hearts (Heb. 3:15).

It was to be eaten with bitter herbs, a reminder of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. As we feed upon Christ, we must remember the sin from which we are saved and hate it, never to go back to it again. On this, Matthew Henry pithily notes,

“Christ will be sweet to us, if sin be bitter.“

Prophetically, we’ve got passages like Isaiah 53, where God’s chosen Messenger, the promised Messiah, is described as a suffering servant who would be led as a lamb to the slaughter on behalf of those he came to redeem. Isaiah 53:4-8 says this:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

One commentator points out that the words “stricken, smitten of God” are used elsewhere in Scripture, specifically in relation to leprosy and other terrible sicknesses (Genesis 12:17; Leviticus 13:3; Leviticus 13:9; Numbers 14:12; 1Samuel 6:9; 2Kings 15:5). This is most instructive! In other words, this Lamb, this suffering servant, took upon himself the worst sickness there is, even our sin. Sin is the killer of killers, more deadly than leprosy, HIV and Covid-19. Ever since the fall of our first parents, our world has been plagued with the dreadful disease called sin. That is the root cause of all the wars, crimes, and every evil you can think of. Sin is the true cause of all the grief and sorrows in our world. And Christ has borne all of the world’s sin in His own body.

The word for “borne” in the original implies both the “taking upon oneself,” and the “taking away from others,” thus, we are hereby introduced to the idea of Christ’s vicarious (he died for us or in our place) and mediatorial (he takes away our sin and thus brings us back to God again) atonement. This leads us to consider our next question, “What does it mean to take away the sin of the world?”

That will be the subject of our contemplation in the next article in the series.

The post Behold The Lamb of God! (Part 2) appeared first on TGN.

The year was 2019. The month was November, the day, the 6^th. The venue: Our first-born son, Ekow’s primary school, and the occasion, parents’ evening. Nothing could have prepared me for what awaited me that evening. I will never forget the expression on the teacher’s face as I entered the room. I hardly sat myself down when she said: “How do you do it? What is your secret?” The question completely threw me off. Before I could respond, she continued, “I wish I had 23 Ekows in my class!”. “He is so polite, so well-behaved, he is such a delight to have in my class!” She added, “So, how did you raise him? How did you do it?”

I stuttered. “Err…erm…” “At home, we try to erm…”, “It’s their mum… erm…”. Finally, I managed to say, “It’s so kind of you to say… I’m so pleased to hear you say that!” I missed a golden gospel opportunity. Ekow’s light shone brightly in his new school (he had started there only the previous year), and his teacher noticed it and wanted to know our secret.

Did we have a special formula for raising our kids? No, we didn’t. Did Ekow eat different meals from his classmates? Perhaps. But was it down to anything in us that he was shining in school? Of course not! However, we did have something up our sleeves! We had Jesus; our kids have been learning about Him at home from infancy and have grown to love Him for themselves. So, if there was any praise, if there was any virtue, or if we had anything to boast of, it was to boast that Ekow knew the Lord, which was why he was who he was. This was the perfect opportunity to point Ekow’s teacher to Jesus, but I blew it! Perhaps you, too, can identify with a time when you were presented with the ideal gospel moment where you could testify about your faith, but you failed to “carpe momentum!” (Seize the moment!).

Not John the Baptist. When faced with an enquiry about who he was and the secret to his ministry, he was able to milkshake the situation into one of the most powerful witnesses about Jesus in holy writ. That inquiry sets the scene for our opening passage. You will find that in John 1:19-28.

A little introduction to John’s gospel is fitting. John, the beloved’s goal in his gospel is to prove “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31). And in so doing, he marshals at least seven powerful witnesses. John’s (the baptist’s) witness in our opening text is the first witness John presents. The Wycliffe Bible commentary notes,

“In his burning desire to magnify Christ, John turned an inquiry about himself into a strong witness to the greater One about to manifest himself.”

In this series of articles, we will explore John’s (the baptiser’s) testimony about Jesus in detail. First, we will set the scene and situate our passage within its proper context. Then, we will focus our attention on, “Who is this Lamb who takes away the sin of the world”? We will then seek to understand what it means to take away the sin of the world. We will probe the question, “Why did John use this description of Christ as a Lamb and not any other, for example, a Lion?” And finally, we’ll look at the response of John’s hearers and what our own response should be.

Setting the scene

Let’s recount the events of that fateful day. The Jews (by which John the beloved means the Jewish authorities, who were often opposed to Christ) had sent priests and Levites to ask John whether he was the Christ, Elijah or the prophet. John did not mince words. He declared unwaveringly: “I am not the Christ, nor the prophet – I am only the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

But his inquisitors were not satisfied. They pressed further, “If you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, then why are you baptizing?” To which John (the baptiser) waxed even more eloquent. “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” John (the beloved) does not record it in his gospel, but this was the same day that John (the baptiser) baptised Jesus. John’s (the baptiser’s) words in vv. 30-34 give this away. Matthew 3:11-17 places John’s words in that passage squarely at the baptism of Jesus.

Now we’ve got to ask why the Jewish authorities interrogated John this way. We can point to at least two reasons.

First off, the strong preaching of John, which had captivated the multitudes, had piqued the interest of the Jewish leaders. Who was this new preacher who was drawing masses to the wilderness? Matthew 3:5-6 records that “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” So, given the size of John’s congregation, the authorities were beginning to wonder, “Could this be the Messiah?”

But even more important was that he was baptising those who came to him. You see, one of the things baptisms symbolised to the Jewish people was leadership. This is implied in Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2:

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.“

What does Paul mean by the Israelites being baptised into Moses? Let’s unpack this. The children of Israel had just been freed from slavery in Egypt and were on their way to the promised land. They were camped at Pi hahiroth, by the sea, when they saw Pharaoh and his army hard in pursuit, hoping to capture and send them back to bondage. God commanded Moses to stretch out his rod over the red sea, at which it parted in two for them to walk through. So, as they marched through the red sea, following Moses, we see a clear sign of their freedom from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh and their submission to the leadership of Moses, who would lead them into the promised land. Thus, the Holy Spirit writing through Paul indicates that at that point, they were being baptised into Moses—i.e., they had severed their ties with Pharaoh and Egypt once and forever and were now following Moses’ leadership. (Just as the believers’ baptism signifies our being buried to the old nature (freedom from sin and the devil’s tyranny) and our new life and decision to follow Jesus). That is why God consistently warned them not to return to Egypt because it represented a return to the leadership of Pharaoh, if you like.

So here was John the baptiser, baptising the multitudes who came to him. And the Jewish leaders wondered with what authority was he baptising the people. Could it be he was the Christ? So, you see why they asked those piercing questions. And thus, John had to clarify. He said, “I merely baptise with water – indicating that you have a sin problem and need purification. But I cannot take away your sin, no. There is One among you, whom you do not know; He will perform the ultimate work of purification.”

So, we arrive at the next day after all these have occurred. John is once more thundering from the wilderness, calling the people to repentance in preparation for the Messiah, in true fashion to his calling. Then he sees Jesus coming toward him and declares to his multitudinous congregation: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John says, “Look, guys, you’ve got it all wrong! You’re making a big fuss about me, but your attention is in the wrong place. You are focusing your energies on me, a mere messenger. I am only a shadow; this is the real thing! Focus your attention on Him! He’s the one I want you to fall in love with, not me.” And so, that’s what we’ll do in the subsequent posts.

And like John, that’s what we ought to call those around us to do, in our words and deeds.

The post Behold The Lamb of God! (Part 1) appeared first on TGN.

(The musings of Christian A are ended).

I promised myself I wasn’t going back, yet here I am; I’ve done it again! I really thought I was strong enough to do it on my own. After all the prophecies I received at the start of the New Year, nothing seems to have changed. My addictions are stronger now than ever before. I really thought I had broken free of my lust, I really thought I was free. Just the other Lord’s day I responded when the man of God made an altar call to sow a seed into our righteousness this year. I am really discouraged right now I feel like giving up. What’s the point of trying when I always come back to square one? It’s not even past the first quarter of the year, and already I feel defeated. Will I ever be able to live a life that pleases God?

(The musings of Christian B are ended).

Biblical Help

Christians A and B are feeling frustrated and at their wits’ end. Their efforts at making good their resolve to live for God in the New Year have failed them and left them discouraged and dejected. Thus, failing in their resolve, they have lost all will and desire to persevere any longer.

Do their stories sound familiar? Is January quite not what you had hoped it would be? The writer of the 43rd Psalm has some practical help for you.

This is what we read in the last verse of that Psalm:

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? 

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

(Psalm 43:5, 42:5, 11).

Most commentators think that David wrote this Psalm and the one that precedes it when he was betrayed by his son Absalom and he fled into the parts beyond the Jordan, or when Saul pursued him and he sought refuge in a strange land, among the heathen. In the verse above, he finds himself awfully distressed by his present circumstances. He feels downhearted and dejected. His soul is in turmoil; it feels like he has reached a cul-de-sac and his frustration is evident. Yet the Psalmist does something that holds a great lesson for every child of God who feels like giving up.

Preach to Yourself

Instead of allowing his disquieted soul to talk to him, David rather talks to his soul, and realigns his perspective of things. Instead of focusing on his emotions and present circumstances, he redirects his focus on God. The word of God should take pre-eminence over all other voices that compete for our attention if we are to live victorious lives as Christians. When David realigned his perspective, he realised that his dejection and state of misery was unwarranted, as he preaches to his soul to hope in God.

Hope in God

Christians A and B are downcast because they feel they have failed themselves and God. They had goals for the New Year that they have not met, habits that they told themselves they can deal with, yet have failed to master, and therefore they feel like giving up. Like David, Christians A and B need to focus on God and not on their own efforts.

Your Worth is Not Based on Your Own Works

Our worth as Christians is not in our works, it is in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.

Jesus paid it all on the cross, and purchased our freedom from sin and the wrath of God against our sins. Each time God looks at us, He sees the finished work of Christ based on which we are declared righteous. Our righteousness is not the product of our works—not before we got saved, and not once after we are saved. Christ is our righteousness (1Cor. 1:30).

Fasting and praying are great spiritual disciplines; yet in and of themselves they are not what guarantees our victory over sin. Christ’s finished work is what does. Fasting does not commend us to God; it simply puts us in a place where God can work on us as we humble our hearts and open up to the means of His grace in our lives.

Giving is a great act of worship; however, we can never purchase God’s grace with money, nor His gifts and favour with any seed of offering we can ever give.

Instead of focusing on your own human efforts, take strength in God’s grace. As Paul admonishes, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (not yours)” (Eph. 6:10, emphasis added).

Your Sins Do Not Make God Love You Any Less

Christian, your sins are not good enough reason for dejection and misery—Christ has borne them on the cross of Calvary, and His blood continuously cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:7b). Confess your sins to God and move forward in the assurance of His forgiveness (1John 1:9, 2:1).

There is therefore now no condemnation for all those who are in Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate us from His love; neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation—including ourselves, our sins and failings—will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:1, 35-39).

You Shall Yet Praise Him, Your Salvation

Here is the crust of the whole matter: God is your salvation! Christian, do you really trust in God as your soul’s salvation? Then trust Him completely for the working out of every detail of your walk with Him. Trust Him each moment of the day; cast your cares upon Him and you will find that you have nothing to fear.

David said, “for I shall again praise him”. This is a statement of faith and hope in the salvation of God from every enemy that threatens our joy in Him. Though in this life we are fraught with temptation and trials and Satan threatens to undo us, yet God will grant us the grace to persevere and overcome. And soon, when he returns or calls us home, we shall see His face forever and praise for all of eternity He who is our salvation and our God!

The post Help For The Downhearted appeared first on TGN.